Before the Legend
by MaskedNarnianQueen
Summary: Everyone knows the story of King Arthur, the legendary King that united the lands of Albion, but what of the lessor known characters in the tale of power and how Camelot came to Pendragon rule, and the tyrant family who held in it in their grip.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don not own Merlin or any characters from the show**

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Everyone knows the story of King Arthur, the legendary king who united the lands of Albion with the help of the powerful sorcerer Merlin and troupe of brave knight. But what of the lesser known characters in the tale of power, of how the land of Camelot came to be under Pendragon rule and the tyrant family who would hold it in their grip.

This is the true story of how one family changed everything.

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The sun stood high over the valley as the violent rhythm of hoofs ratted through the fields. For the women working in the fields remained low as the family rode on by. Upon the giant white mare stood the eldest daughter now riding in front of her siblings, but was quickly caught up by her younger brother, who within minutes had passed the invisible finish line.

"Not so fast now sister." The young victor joyed, sticking his tongue at his angry feuding sister.

"Agravaine, I will have your tongue!" The wild young girl screamed as she jumped from her horse, she was known for her brashness and wild temper. She was only eight but needed to learn to control herself.

"Vivienne! Leaving him at peace, he meant no harm. Must you always be so impatience!" Vivienne was stopped by their mother, joining the rest of her children, her youngest children in her arms. Vivienne huff while her brothers dismounted their horses, her older brothers immediately flocking to help the seven year old Ygraine from her horse.

"Now put the horses away and come in for dinner before it gets dark." Their mother ordered, grabbing hold of her two young daughters.

"Come on Viv, you hear mother, away with your horse." Tristan taunted as her lead his own brown horse towards the stables, following his older brother Gareth. Viv laughed as gently lead the stead after her siblings.

"Viv? I'm sorry." The small voice of Agravaine caused Vivienne to stop and turn towards him, unlike his sister Agravaine hated to quarrel with his twin.

"I guess it is I am to be sorry, I was too hasty. Truce." She smiled as she held out her small arm.

"Truce." He agreed, his floppy black hair always neatly combed bobbed as he laughed, unlike his sister's that was unruly and wingspread. The pair was born together as far as they saw it, would die together. Their young minds seeing no reason to be parted, But unknown to the pair their world was about to take a very different path.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any characters from the show or the myth**

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The dark clouds held in a bleak vortex above the land, for Vivienne she had never seen a darker morning. She could not help but be afraid as she travelled closer to the great lake; a cold breeze caused her to pull her black clock closer to her body. Her soul shivered as her youngest sister cried out in front of her.

For the oldest princess, the events of last night had seemed like an eternity ago. The great hall of the palace had been alight with great candles and tables full of the wealthiest food available, as expected of them, her and her siblings where dressed in their finest. It had made Vivienne happy to join in the dancing as the merriment continued.

But the night had ruined by the news of attacking Saxons. In an instant the fairy tale world the royal children had known was destroyed, they would no longer see a great party or leave the palace walls for fear of their life.

In these dark times, the Queen and her two daughters were now travelling to the Isle of the Blessed. Vivienne peaked from her mother's shoulders as she saw the large black palace that stood out against the misty lake. The very image made her reluctant to leave her horse. She sat frozen as her mother in black robes climbed off the fawn coloured horse, with the young Excalibur now encased in her arms.

"Come child." Her mother's youthful face held a serious expression, while her blonde hair was pulled back and hidden under the hood.

"I don't want to go mother." Her small voice whispered as she caught sight of the hooded man in the small boat.

"You must, we must go now Vivienne." Her mother said pulling the eight year old from the horse. With arms wrapped around her own shoulders Vivienne followed her mother towards the dark water edge. The older man helped the three girls in after being rewarded his fee.

Vivienne could only watch in fear as the imposing palace grew closer, she could hear her younger sister restlessly shift from under their mother's dark clock. The two sisters were the only of the Queen's six children to inherit her magic talents.

Within no time the little boat had come in contract with the small earthy shore. She took charge of her sister as her mother continued her way inside to pray for the defeat of the Saxons, the whole point of this journey.

"I'm scared Vivienne." Her little three year old sister whispered to her, with tears in her eyes. Vivienne carefully pulled her sister closer towards her body as she sat on a rock, her sister's wild red curls coming loose from the hood. "Tell me the dragon story."

"One day in a magnificence land of Avalon, there lived a splendid little dragon with skin as white as a fresh snow; she was free and loved to fly above the trees. But the land was full of many creatures, including snakes, wolves, doves and griffins. These creatures scared the little white dragon so much that that she flew away, and met a red dragon the red dragon however proved to be the little white dragon's death. But the dragon did not die, she was reborn and the very protector of the red dragon and was truly free. She spent the days flying free and whenever the red dragon was scared she always reminded him, that she would keep him safe."

Vivienne finished the story, one she herself had known since childhood, the prophecy of the fight of the red and white dragon. In secret it scared her as her family's emblem was the white dragon. She shook those thoughts out of her head as she carefully laid her sleeping sister behind the rock.

She cautiously made her way around the castle walls, her breathe catching in her throat, men from the land of Deira, the brutal wolf men from the North. She watched as the men followed by the fourteen year old Prince Odin, in furs and curled swords at their waists and each the wolf emblem on their chest. The princess's eyes grew wider as she saw the bloodied body of a man being drag along the ground towards an altar.

Before she could move she felt a hand over her mouth, slowly turning she found the familiar face of Agravaine. Her scared expression soon melted to a weak smile at the sight of her brother.

"What are you doing here?"

She whispered, taking her brother into her arms.

"Father was angry when he discovered mother and you two were gone, he, myself and a few knights came to get you and Excalibur."

"But why not mother?" Vivienne had never been close to her mother, but never imagined leaving her.

"Mother came to sacrifice herself for the Saxon defeat. Now come." They quickly walked hand in hand towards the shore picking up Excalibur on the way. The three children carefully dodged the wolf men hiding in the rocks, but close to shore they were met with the sight of the wolves and the dragons in battle.

"Will we win?" Excalibur whispered.

"Of course, wolves cannot defeat a dragon, remember white dragons will always protect, I will keep you safe." Vivienne whispered back. Although the brutal wolves fought, all but the coward prince were killed.

Prince Odin however hid in the rocks until his men were killed. With his curled blade ready he made his way towards the boat, his dark eyes however caught a target and jumped out at the older King. His blade digging into the King's chest, with a snarl the prince made ready to make the killing blow.

"Stop!" The powerful voice of the old high priestess echoed, the little children watched as an old women dressed in navy robes and their mother entered the scene of battle. "You have blasphemy on this of scared island. Be gone runt, and know that heartache will follow you all the days of your life." She said with power as Odin sourly climbed into the boat. "Mark my words; the reign of the white dragon is at its end." She finished in a rage, before calming down.

"Come children." The old women's voice caught them, scarred and in awe they made their way towards her and their dying father. Agravaine was scared as he looked upon his gasping father in his mother's arms. Gareth was fifteen, his was so young, he could not rule.

"You mother came to me to be a priestess in exchange for the safety of the land, but now she will give up her life for your father's. However I need one of you to stay or else the Saxons will invade." She said looking at the two girls. Vivienne looked at her father, who was now healed and her mother had disappeared before their eyes.

"I will." She spoke, handing over Excalibur to her father as she hugged her twin for the last time.

"Come child." The high priestess held out her hand. From this spot Vivienne stood as she watched her family sail back to the land of Camelot, he glittering future seeming so far away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Don't own Merlin**

The now eight year old Excalibur sat in front of her mirror, while her older ladies' maid roughly pulled a brush through her red hair. Excalibur always hated it and wish from her mother's gentle touch back. The sour look did not go unnoticed by the stern maid who constantly scolded and reminded the youngest princess of her position. Excalibur obeyed with a calm exterior but inside she felt as dark as the palace had now became.

From the return of the King, the colour and life was stripped from the castle, the music and great dancing which use to fill the magical hallways were no more. Many colourful banners and tapestry were exchanged by the basic black background and the white dragon family crest. The bright and colourful colours that had adorned the royal court were now replaced with grey garments.

Excalibur hated the new palace, she still remembered the glory days only four years ago, the time when her mother's magic perfumed the air and filled it with wonder. A time in which the children were allowed into the splendid outside which was now replaced with the bloodshed of war.

The maid tied Excalibur's curly hair into a tight braid before helping her change into her grey prayer dress, careful not to anger the child's wound inflicted during the King's rage. With the ties carefully tied the women in her thirties placed the white wimple around the young girl's head. The regular silence follow as they both walked to the church.

The church inside the place was the only source of comfort the now elder daughter of Ygraine knew, at the age of seven she had awoken to the news that her mother had died saving her father, while her older sister was left on the island. Like the rest of the kingdom Ygraine mourned their lost, despite the fact she was never close to her sister. Like her father and male siblings she had been raised Christian and often retied to the stone alter in prayer every day.

For Ygraine this was a natural routine, she would arise from sleep at dawn and under the eye of her ladies' maid together they would pray for thankfulness of the new day and the delivery of bloodshed in the long war of the Saxons. Before having breakfast and returning to hear mass in the church to which after Ygraine would stay and pray for an end to the war. Followed by lunch and needle work, dinner and afternoon prayers for the safe passage of souls.

In the days of her mother Ygraine would often have partake in music and dancing which filled the afternoon hours, but quickly to a life of prayer and solidity to please her father. She knew that as the oldest daughter, she would be the first to marry as an instrument of peace, as so she prayed for the strength to carry out her future duties.

Excalibur solemnly made her way into the stone room, her little eyes focused on the bleeding form of Christ. She missed the stories of the many Gods and Goddess her mother use to tell, tales of these mythical beings granting favours and bringing about the harvest every year. She missed these stories and despite their father's strict rule, she would often sneak into Agravaine's room to which he would tell her the same stories.

Unlike her sister she prayed for the end of their father's cruelty, the many scars on her small body evidence of his drunken hate and anger. Small tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she remembered the way his battle hard hands caused so much pain, simply because she was not the favourite. It was not just for her sake she prayed for her father's death, in the years since her mother's death her father had installed great taxes to pay for the war. If someone could not pay they were slaughtered.

The two girls continued to pray, each with different goals as the footsteps of the King, his three princes and a priest entered the place of worship. For Excalibur she knew the lies began now, her father was a tyrant but would daily return praying for forgiveness of his soul. Men like you do not deserve such forgiveness, her young girl thought as her father took up his position in front of the children.

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Far from the grey world of court, but oldest princess stood by the dark water looking out in the direction of the kingdom of Camelot, it had been a small palace, which relied on the farming and wool trade to provide money, Vivienne knew with the battle raging Camelot was losing money and trade. After all no one could get in our out of the city walls. She looked dreamily as she remembered the great yellow fields in the harvest and the great many trees she loved to climb with her brother.

It made her heart ache to think of her family, as the middle child, she had never been close to her parents but the royal children were a close nit group. She remembered spending the days learning to read from her elder brother Gareth, as the crown prince he was the only one of the children you had a scholar's education, learning to read and write as well as speaking other languages besides practising sword play with the glory obsessed Tristan while her sisters laughed encircled them in the bright gardens. Her favourite sibling had to be her twin Agravaine, since the birth they were almost never apart, she missed him the most.

She continued to walk around the water edge, her bare feet lapping in the cold tide. She had little friends within the battlements however known were from Camelot; day after day she wished to go home. As she turned the corner she noticed a strange shape on the beach, lifting her skirts further he hastily made her way closer.

As her eyes picked up the shape she realised it was a boy maybe a little older than her, his dark hair matted against his tan skin while his colours was ripped. With her strength she managed to pull him slightly further in shore. With a stir the boy opened sky blue eyes.

"What's your name?" Vivienne gently asked.

"Uther Pendragon." He managed to breath before scrumming to unconsciousness. Something on his finger caught Vivienne's curiosity, on closer look she found his ring to have a craving of a red dragon.


End file.
